The Helljumpers
by aerofett
Summary: ODST face off against the Covenant in the beginings of mankinds greatest war
1. Prologue

Halo  
The Helljumpers  
By: Austin Renfroe  
  
PROLOGUE:  
  
Ryan stood at attention in his dress uniform. His jacket and trousers pressed to perfection. His hands rested firmly along the seams of his pants. He held his head high in the air, feeling the respect his father had for him.  
The only thing that could make his graduation from Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, or, ODST training better would be his dad. He missed him, but knew he was looking down on him proudly. Captain Derek Preston approached Ryan, causing the young Corporal's breath to become slightly louder.  
"Corporal Ryan Jacob Courtney!" shouted the Captain as he stood in front of the marine.  
"Sir, yes Sir!" was the immediate reply as the towering Captain looked down on him with the eyes of a battle-hardened warrior. The Captain held a silver medal portraying a classic pineapple fragmentation grenade hanging from a parachute. Ryan decided quickly that it was possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The Captain slowly pinned the medal to Ryan's breast and took a step backward.  
Ryan could barely hold back his smile as he snapped a crisp salute. The Captain eyed him for a moment, then, returned the gesture. "Congratulations soldier!"  
Ryan looked to his new medal, then back at the Captain as he made his way down the row of Marines. Fine men they were, every last one of them having trained hard for months to stand here now. Ryan could barely hold back a tear.  
  
The post-graduation party had begun, leaving Ryan sitting next to his long time friend, Corporal Jared Michael Vencill. Jared had graduated from ODST earlier that day along with Ryan, and they were now celebrating with an enthusiasm that could only belong to a marine. The spirits flowed heavily that night as a crowd of nearly one hundred newly initiated ODST drank to the future, the past, their troubles, and pretty much any other excuse to throw down some cold ones.  
Jared and Ryan were both feeling pretty good. They sat at a poker table and talked, drank, arm-wrestled, drank, played drinking games, and drank. Ryan was beginning to wonder if he would ever get to sleep that night.  
A fight broke out unexpectedly among a group of low ranking members who all had their eyes on a pretty little lady sitting by herself at the bar. The brawl was cheered on with enthusiasm as the not quite sober crowd was granted entertainment.  
Ryan and Jared both laughed as drunken punches were thrown in every direction, and insults were shouted with enough slur to confuse a translation AI. The room was giddy with excitement until Captain Preston appeared in the doorway.  
The low maintenance military pub grew silent as the Captain's figure strode deliberately slowly through the room. The boys forgot about their fight quickly, and immediately stood straighter than any drunks Ryan had ever seen. Both boys had blood dripping from their noses and bruises on their cheeks.  
"Parties over troops, we got work to do!" the Captain said so everybody was sure to here. He gave the scrappers very little attention, surprising both Ryan and Jared. "Get your gear and report to the docks at 0100 hours!"  
Ryan and Jared exchanged nervous glances, then, quickly stumbled from the pub to their barracks to gear up.  
***  
Gunnery Sergeant Austin Gerald Renfroe lay quietly in his cot. His friend and squad mate, Staff Sergeant Alex Armstrong, lay beside him, telling a story that only the two ODST could appreciate. The two had a sense of humor that nobody else seemed to understand.  
Both soldiers were exhausted from preparing Romeo base all day. Octanus Three proved to be rather tough terrain, leaving most of the 509th ODST platoon fast asleep in their quickly assembled barracks.  
Austin reached below his cot and snagged a full canteen of water. Cool liquid ran across his parched lips, and glided smoothly down his throat. He held the water towards Alex, who took it gratefully.  
With something in his stomach finally, Austin was feeling better, and rolled to get comfortable in his cot. He caught a glimpse of the tattoo on his left bicep as his arm fell over his chest, reminding him of what could happen when you fall asleep drunk. Being stuck in hostile situations always brought fond memories flooding to the Gunny. The tattoo featured an alien animals skull with large tusks protruding from its jaw. The image reminded Austin of an elephant, and he was sure he had seen it in a movie somewhere once. The mark always seemed lucky to the soldier, so he wore it proudly. The Gunnery Sergeant's thoughts suddenly switched from the tattoo. He wanted to be asleep, but had too much on his mind to do so. He was unsure as to what kind of threat this new race would pose. He glanced over, and found Alex snoring loudly, mumbling something while he slept. He hoped his buddy rested well, it could be the last night he ever got to.  
  
Alex pretty much forgot his story after taking a monstrous swig from the canteen. He noticed Austin turn over, and decided to bunk up himself. A warm sleeping bag and about five minutes were all it took for Alex to fall fast asleep. He began to have a heart warming dream about little green men flooding out of a flying saucer, then being blown up in slow motion by a barrage of RPG's.  
  
Austin was nearly asleep when the sound of a drop ship's engines brought him back to life. Muffled shouts and orders flooded through the camp as the new ODST landed. Austin sat up almost instantly, and put his boots on. Alex rolled in his bed, and slowly opened his eyes. He also fastened his boots, and followed Austin outside. The Sergeants starred at the large troop transport in awe. Austin was quite thrilled to see reinforcements. Both men suddenly realized, as they carefully watched the transport unload, that this fight was going to be very real. 


	2. The Helljumpers

CHAPTER 1:  
  
Jared looked at Ryan sitting in the chair in front of him. Ryan slept silently the whole ride. Jared couldn't remember how much he had drank the night of graduation, but, he guessed by the way Ryan had collapsed in his chair and dozed off immediately he may have had a pint too many. The troop transport finally settled down in the grass of a huge clearing surrounded by jungle. His whole platoon had been called to this green planet, but he couldn't remember the planets name for the life of him. It was one of the weird names followed by a number.  
"Welcome to Octanus Three, your home away from home!" came a voice over the drop ships COM system mockingly.  
"Hey there sleeping beauty, get your scrawny ass up!" Jared said to his unconscious friend.  
"What?" Ryan mumbled as he slowly came to. He lifted a heavy arm and wiped the eye crud from his face. Ryan didn't seem to notice the drool on his shoulder where his head had rested.  
"Sleep well?" Jared asked, as he undid his flight harness and retrieved his gear.  
"Like a baby!" Ryan answered. He stood up, and stretched his cramped limbs. Several joints popped as a result, causing Ryan a sigh of relief.  
The two men got in line and marched out of the ship. The new ODSTs fell into formation. A tall muscular Colonel marched out in front of them. He was one of the biggest men Ryan had ever seen. He had two men behind him armed with MA2Bs.  
"Welcome to the last place you want to be." The Colonel called loudly. "I am Colonel Frank Wethersby!" Many troops stood straighter as soon as they realized they had a Colonel in their midst. "As you undoubtedly know, a new enemy has threatened the UNSC. We have dubbed these Mars invader wannabe's, the Covenant. They have attacked three of our patrol ships, leaving one badly scarred survivor. Information from this sole surviving ship, the Heracles, suggests the enemy ship sustained fair amounts of damage during the fight, and is expected to make camp on this planet for necessary repairs." The Colonel paused, and looked at the rugged ODSTs gathered around him. "That's where you boys.and girls, come in. We intend on delivering a surprise assault on the grounded cruiser, and show them why they fucked with the wrong race!"  
A large roar echoed throughout the crowd as the ODST were beginning to feel a pre-combat adrenaline rush. The soldiers were ready to kick some ass, forget about taking names, and find another ass to kick.  
  
Austin and Alex couldn't help but cheer with the assembled crowd as Wethersby gave his little pep talk. The two made their way into the midst of the fresh recruits, trying to get an idea of their new squad mates.  
  
Ryan was making his way out of the crowd with Jared on his heels. The Pep talk had pumped him up a little, but he didn't care about anything but a warm bed and a few hours of peace.  
The boys got through the perimeter of the group, and soon found their tent. With a sigh of relief, Ryan and Jared threw their belongings inside, and were about to enter themselves when a battle scarred soldier grabbed them by the shoulders.  
"Howdy bitches!" he said in a coarse roar. "You fresh little recruits gonna' help the real soldiers are ya now?"  
Ryan looked at Jared, "Yeah, I looks that way doesn't it.pal!"  
"You getting' mouthy ya little punk?!" the soldier boomed!  
"Maybe." Ryan replied casually.  
The soldier's cocky smile turned into a vicious scowl as he grabbed Ryan by the neck, and cocked back his fist.  
  
Austin looked up from the crowd in time to see Sergeant Ron James start a "friendly" conversation with two of the newcomers. Austin and Alex both new how stubborn Ron was, and headed to the three men. The last thing the ODST needed to be doing was fight each other.  
Austin stood silently behind Ron, as he drew his fist on the newbie. Ron had just started to throw the punch, when Austin grabbed his arm, twisted, and threw the Sergeant to the dusty ground. "Made friends already?" Austin said coolly. "How 'bout you head back to your own tent!"  
Ron looked a little scarred and angry as he got up. Austin was easily one of the biggest Marines on the planet, and most of the ODST new better than to start something with him. "You got it, Sarge!" Ron grumbled angrily as he trotted to the southern end of Romeo Base.  
  
"Thanks." Ryan muttered quietly to the higher-ranking soldier who had just saved him the inconvenience of a broken nose.  
"Not a problem, just try and stay outta' trouble from here on out!" The Gunny said with a smile. "The names Renfroe."  
Ryan extended his hand, "Courtney." He answered. "Oh yeah and this dumb ass is Vencil."  
  
Austin shook Ryan's hand and introduced Alex, and then headed back to their tent. Both Alex and Austin had had enough excitement for one night and were ready to hit the hay.  
Austin hoped he would sleep well, knowing full well that tomorrow; he would be fighting an unknown species on unknown territory.  
  
Ryan and Jared settled in, and wasted no time falling asleep. Both men, unwilling to admit it, but both feeling at least a little scared of the days that lie before them. 


End file.
